Dangerous Secrets
by Jenn Lynne
Summary: Harry Potter kept many secrets from his friends, but none as dangerous as falling for Draco Malfoy, none as deadly.
1. Prologue

Please note: This story contains slash, it's my first attempt at writing any so be gentle.

Dangerous Secrets

Prologue

Sometimes, the softest of gestures can mean more than most could truthfully imagine. The lightest of touches, the most miniscule of embraces can sometimes set ones heart reeling into an unknown and wondrous ambiance of want and desire. No matter how hard they may try to prevent it.

It had begun the first day of term at the beginning of sixth year, an unspoken truce between once bitter enemies, neither wanting to carry to burden of their animosity into these new and harsh times. The forces of dark and light had come into open war just that June and everyone, from the most important to the most insignificant and overlooked of the magical world, was forced to openly choose and support one side or the other. Very few remained neutral, and those who dared to were often the first targets of the darkness. But, there were some, a very rare few, who had shocked the world with their choices.

One of those was the son of the Dark Lord's finest follower, a boy who had once reveled in the idea of following each of his father's careful footsteps with pride. When Draco Malfoy showed his allegiance to the light it was front page news. He quickly became one of the most high profile targets of Lord Voldemort, third on the Dark Lords personal hit list behind such illustrious and devout light wizards as Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. And it was his enmity with that same Harry Potter that he left behind along with his childhood.

Potter himself had been more than willing to "bury the hatchet" as it is put. When he returned from his summer holidays at the beginning of his sixth year, still grieving over the death of his godfather, and harsher from long nights of horrible nightmares and visions, he had wanted nothing more than to fall into the background of Hogwarts' life and slowly drift away in his numbness. It didn't happen that way though, as it never seemed to. Harry was pulled, sometimes literally, out of the shadows and into extra training with his teachers and forced into a position of leadership by his peers.

Slowly his eyes had begun to lose the life they had once exuded in such great abundance in his youth, in his innocence. It quickly became apparent that Harry was slipping away, but no one knew quite how to stop it.

It was toward the middle of his second term in sixth year that Hermione Granger, one of Harry's closest friends, noticed something rather odd. For some reason, whenever Harry glanced out over the Great Hall at meals, which was quite often in his quiet introspection, his eyes would rest on Draco Malfoy longer than anyone else. Hermione could see, in those few seconds, a shadow of the old Harry, for a fraction of a moment that light would return to his eyes again, that spark that has once made the green so vibrant it was almost blinding in its intensity. It both puzzled and pleased her. Puzzled, because she could not fathom a reason why looking at Draco Malfoy would elicit such a reaction from him, and pleased, because he wasn't completely gone, not if his eyes could still shine like that.

It always took Harry a moment to realize his lapse in concentration and look away. He seemed to skip over the implications of his desire to watch Draco, at least it seemed that way. On the inside however, Harry was quite diligently examining why exactly he had that urge. He didn't fool himself into thinking it meant nothing, for it was only in those moments of his day that life seemed to have any real meaning, any importance.

He had once fought it, these desires that were now completely built up within him, but now he embraced them. And when Hermione's watchful gaze turned elsewhere he allowed himself to close his eyes and moan silently with his pent up frustration. Yes, he embraced these emotions, but that didn't mean he allowed himself to act on them, or show them for that matter, other then his brief lapses in concentration. Which, much to his continued annoyance, where happening more frequently then before. He knew what he wanted, and at first he had been disgusted in himself for it… but now it had gone on too long, he was too used to these emotions. He knew it was true, true that he kept a secret from his friends that could shatter their tight bonds.

Harry Potter kept many secrets from his friends, but none as dangerous as falling for Draco Malfoy, none as deadly.

(A/N: The first chapter is almost completely written right now but I'm working out a few plot difficulties so it might be a little while before it gets posted but I'll do my best.

Let me know what you think of this so far… is it worth continuing?)


	2. 1: And so it Begins

Disclaimer: I do not, under any circumstances own or claim to own Harry Potter or its affiliates. Please do not sue.

Author's note: Technical difficulties added with a large chunk of plot disputes are the cause for this chapter's delay. I hope it is none the less enjoyed. Responses to reviews at the end. Cheers!

Chapter One: And so it Begins

The fractional tightening of his jaw was the only outward sign of Severus Snape's displeasure; NEWT level potions had always been a tense class, but now, with the seventh year students who had made the cut all in one room and the growing tension between the sides of light and dark even within the school itself, the students were all blatantly tense, as though expecting sudden attack. There were really only three students in the room that didn't seem totally distracted by it. Hermione Granger, whose methodic potions work left no room for something as trifle as tension; Draco Malfoy, who ignored it with years of perfected skill at doing just that, yet from the tightness in his shoulders Severus guessed that the boy was very aware of it; and finally Harry Potter, who seemed completely oblivious altogether of the tension, and continued his work as though alone in the room.

Potter's grades in potions had shot up significantly since the death of his godfather at the climax of his fifth year. This increase would have attracted notice had Severus not been careful to purposefully mark him down for that very reason. Potter now took to studying with a seriousness that was frightening, there wasn't a soul to be seen that wasn't aware that for Harry education was a life or death matter.

"Alright," Professor Snape's voice broke through the heavy silence and several people jumped suspiciously, "bottle and label what you have and bring it to the front, we'll be testing them next class."

As the students moved to follow their instructions, Severus looked out at the many caldrons and took stock of who had correctly brewed the potion. Ganger's potion was a little off colored, he noted with only slightly sadistic pleasure, but Potter's seemed perfect. A few others' had also achieved this, Malfoy and three Ravenclaws to be precise.

It was as Potter moved up from the back of the room with his potion that the professor's voice caught in his throat. With the back of his heal Blaise Zabini nudged his bag into the isle just as Potter approach. It almost looked like nothing, like Blaise hadn't intended for anything to happen, but as Potter's foot caught on the bag Blaise turned to look over his shoulder with a malicious glee dancing in his eyes. While this was happening someone else pushed something toward Potter so that when he fell and rolled to right himself one of the larger knives they had been using to chop the more resilient potions ingredients imbedded itself quite deeply into his right knee, the weight of his body pushing the blade deep enough that the sound of it scraping against bone was so grating even Blaise flinched.

For his own credit, and perhaps to deprive his assailants of the pleasure, Potter made no sound of discomfort as he rolled onto his side and into a sitting position. The Potions Master was kneeled beside him a moment later, barking orders to his immobilized students. As everyone cleared the room, and Hermione ran to get Madam Pomfrey, someone else kneeled beside Harry and Professor Snape. When Harry looked up his breath caught in his throat and his already racing heart faltered in its rhythm as his gaze locked with the cool gray eyes of Draco Malfoy himself.

"Malfoy, put your hands on either side of the wound while I extract the blade so the flesh doesn't tare, when the blade is removed cover the wound with your hands and apply pressure to stanch the bleeding." Snape said, seemingly out of breath in his haste. Draco nodded firmly and placed his hands where instructed on either side of Harry's knee.

The touch sent shivers through Harry's body and he couldn't seem to even feel the pain over the intensity of it. He closed his eyes tightly, pretending it was the pain that caused him to flinch away from the searing heat of Draco's more than welcome touch.

Snape took hold of the handle of the knife as well as the blade and slowly began to remove it. It had wedged itself under his kneecap. Snape hoped that the knife hadn't severed anything important, if the pinched look on Potter's face was anything to go by he guessed it was painful.

-

It was the sudden shocked silence of the room that had made Draco turn just as Harry Potter fell. He was moving toward the other teen with his throat tight and his heart pounding loudly in his ears before he even hit the ground. When Potter looked up at him with those green eyes, that had haunted Draco's dreams for years, it seemed to Draco that time had stopped. He knew he liked Potter, it was hard not to fall for him, most of the school did at one point or another, but for some reason his infatuation with this boy was far more intense than any of his other "school-boy crushes" as he called them.

It took all of Draco's will to turn away from Potter's amazing eyes and do as Snape asked, and even then he did it as quickly as possible so that the teacher wouldn't notice how his hands were shaking. Draco pretended not to notice Harry flinch and tried to convince himself that it was from the pain and not because he didn't like Draco touching him. He breathed deeply and held firmly as Snape slowly began to extract the rather large knife from his crushes right knee. As the blade slowly grated against bone Draco's concentration slipped as he flinched and his hand moved, jabbing into the knife and cutting into his index finger deeply.

"Draco!" Snape snapped and Potter's eyes opened and widened as their blood mingled. He reached over quickly and removed Draco's injured right hand with his left, putting pressure on that wound, and put his free hand on his own knee.

It was done so quickly that even Snape took a moment to blink and stare at Harry. The boy himself set his features, held Draco's hand firmly and gestured with his eyes for Snape to continue. He still had not made a sound since it happened.

Draco's gaze was fixed on his own hand held tightly within the warm confines of Harry's. He looked up into Harry's eyes again and was shocked anew by the concern he saw gazing out at him. Potter gave his hand a gentle squeeze before skewing his eyes shut as Snape pulled the blade completely from his knee.

Immediately after the blade was removed thick red blood began to poor out of the wound. Moving quickly, Draco covered the wound with his hand and applied pressure and a moment later Harry's hand was on top of his doing the same. Harry was drawing in air now in quick uneven gasps and his eyes were open wide and staring as the far wall, unfocused. Snape stood and moved to the potions cabinet on the other side of the room. He had just opened it and was peering inside when the door burst open and Pomfrey hurried in followed by a panting Hermione.

Pomfrey moved up the aisle toward Harry and kneeled beside him where Snape had not long before. For a moment Draco had to push down the sudden and unexpected protectiveness that made him want to pull Harry to him and away from the nurse.

She wasted no time in taking out her wand and slowly prying the boys' hands away from the wound. It was only then that Harry seemed to notice her presence and made a conscious effort to steady his breathing. The wound only bled for another moment before, with a sharp wave of her wand and a soft incantation, Pomfrey had a temporary bandage on it and was preparing to take Harry to the hospital wing.

Snape returned then and pushed a cold steel gray potion to Harry's lips. The boy gulped it down automatically, not questioning his professor.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, please continue on to your next class." Pomfrey said as she stood and tried to bring Harry up with her.

With a great effort and grimace Harry stood, he pulled Draco up with him, only then realizing that he still held tightly to the other boy's hand. He flushed hot but didn't want to relinquish the contact. Draco's cool grey eyes swiveled up to meet his again and his fingers curled around Harry's gently.

"Pomfrey," Snape's silky baritone broke through the trance the two teens had created around them. Pomfrey, alternating between staring at the boys' joined hands and their locked eyes, turned reluctantly toward his voice her mouth agape with question. "Draco was injured when I removed the blade from Mr. Potter's knee and his hand is bleeding. Perhaps he should forgo his next class and accompany you and Mr. Potter to the infirmary."

Pomfrey nodded dumbly and led them out of the room, knowing a diversionary tactic when she saw one but having trouble pulling her mind from the stupor it had fallen into at seeing these once fierce opponents in what was a decidedly compromising position. She shook her head to dispel the remaining fog and wondered if by some miraculous stroke of fate her two companions had done the impossible. 'Perhaps they have.' her mind echoed as she held open the infirmary door and watched them enter hand-in-hand, she couldn't help the smile the curved her lips and threatened to spread until her cheeks hurt at that thought, she just couldn't.

-

As they followed Madame Pomfrey through the halls of Hogwarts Draco tried valiantly to take as much of Harry's weight as he could through their joined hands. Harry glanced at him with an amused expression, as he limped silently along, allowing Draco to take some of burdening weight off his injured knee. The look nearly caused Draco to choke as his throat constricted painfully. He concentrated on breathing through his nose as the urge to pant and relieve the sudden heat that was quickly spreading through him became nearly unbearable.

He led Harry into the infirmary and saw him to the nearest bed. Draco moved to pull away and allow the nurse room, but Harry seemed to have other plans and tugged on their still joined hands until Draco was sitting on his right. Draco's cheeks flushed at both the feel of Harry close beside him and the slight, but still visible, smile on Madame Pomfrey's face.

She kneeled before them and held out her hand for Draco's.

"Let's have a look Mr. Malfoy." she said quickly as Draco reluctantly pulled his hand from the warmth of Harry's.

While Pomfrey went to work quickly and efficiently on the small wound Harry moved imperceptibly closer to him, more of a shift than anything, as though to make up for the lost contact of Draco's hand. Draco had to bite his lip, hard, to prevent himself from yelping as spikes of electricity jumped through his side and warmed his already heated body further.

Pomfrey frowned as she looked up at him, wondering how it was he still felt pain through her numbing spell. She cast another just in case and moved to Harry's knee summoning a tray of magical tools that glinted silvery clean and sharp. Harry gulped almost audibly as he looked at them and Draco fought down the urge to retake his hand with a large mental beaters bat.

"Mr. Malfoy you should go." Pomfrey said distractedly just before pulling away the last layer of bandages around Harry's knee.

Draco found himself frantic for a moment, raking his mind for an excuse to stay but could find none. He slowly stood, his body instantly missing the warm contact. Harry looked up and their eyes locked again, there was longing in Potter's gaze and Draco had to turn quickly and leave the room before his newest problem became apparent.

In the hallway he pressed his back against the cool stone wall and closed his eyes tightly, fighting against his sudden arousal. His breath came in ragged pants as he tried to reign himself in, and upon failing fled to the nearest deserted classroom.

-

"It is time Lucius, where is the key?" Lord Voldemort asked the twisted figure at his feet. The other prisoners were screaming for attention but it didn't seem to bother the snake-like dark lord as he looked down on what had once been his most prized servant. Lucius seemed to him now as nothing more then a shadow, too inconstant to survive through the light of day.

Lucius kept his tormented gray eyes on the floor. "My Lord, my father bestowed the key to Draco when he was an infant. He said I was unworthy of protecting it and Draco would keep it safe. To my knowledge Draco still carries it."

Voldemort's lips curled in anger and distaste. Lucius had not been released from Azkaban after his capture at the Department of Mysteries over a year before and therefore was unaware of his son's betrayal. That knowledge did little to appease the Dark Lord's anger, "Crucio!"

Grasping for breath Harry shot into a sitting position and pressed the heel of his hand to the burning scar on his forehead. His Occlumency shields rarely let in such visions, but in his haste to assure the nurse that he did not require a sleeping draft he had forgotten to clear his mind.

Harry fought with himself for a moment on what to do, whether to see the headmaster immediately or wait until morning. His fatigue won the argument and he laid silently back down.

It was at this moment that a sharp creek startled him back into alertness. The door to the infirmary was being opened and Harry forced himself to move his hand slowly to his wand and keep his eyes slightly open to look up though his lashes.

A figure approached, half concealed in the shadows, and stopped to stand over him. Harry's heart raced when he recognized the figure as Draco Malfoy.

Draco glanced behind him and then in the direction of the nurse's office before sitting in the chair beside Harry's bed and watching him. For a long moment neither moved, then Harry spoke, causing Draco to start in surprise.

"I thought you were a Death Eater or something, I had my wand in my hand before you got all the way through the door." Harry pulled his hand away from his side to reveal the wand and let it roll onto the bedside table.

Draco chuckled lightly, "Those are some reflexes."

Harry smiled and hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should tell Draco about the dream and the reason he had already been awake. He decided against it until he spoke to Dumbledore. "Why are you here?"

Draco colored, it even showed in the dim light and Harry smiled as the pink stained Draco's satin cheeks. He pushed himself onto an elbow so that he could watch the reaction more closely. Draco turned his eyes away and spoke softly, "I don't know."

"Liar." was Harry's immediate reply.

He looked back at Harry was a tentative smile, not quite sure where, or how to start. "Yeah." was all he seemed able to come up with.

Harry didn't seem unpleased by this response and smiled mischievously for a moment, a look that gave Draco pause, before struggling to pull himself into a sitting position.

When his arms began to tremble from the effort Draco snapped back to reality and jumped to his aid. Harry smiled in triumph at Draco's action and caught him around the neck as he leaned over to help him and pulled their mouths together firmly. It didn't take Draco long to react. He put both hands on either side of Harry and eased him back against the pillows, deepening the kiss and making Harry more comfortable at the same time. Passion welled up within them both and they wrapped their arms around each other, pulling and tugging until their bodies were pressed hard and their mouths bruising tight.

Slowly, Draco opened his mouth and gently ran his velvety tongue along Harry's lower lip. The shorter teen shuddered and slowly opened his mouth, inviting the blonde to enter. He took his time exploring Harry's mouth and the gentle movements made Harry moan into Draco. The sound set them both aflame and Harry plunged into Draco's mouth with vigor.

It was at that moment they heard a dull thud and footsteps approach from the nurse's office. Panting, they separated and Draco ran for cover as Harry rearranged himself in bed, trying both to slow his breathing and hide his obvious arousal by turning onto his side and pushing his face into the pillow.

Pomfrey entered with a mutter and walked to a cabinet, retrieved something from inside and barely spared a glance at her only patient before heading back to bed.

Harry released the breath he had been holding and a beat later Draco emerged from his hiding place beside a nearby potions cabinet just out of what would have been Pomfrey's line of sight. Draco was flushed and smiling like Harry had never seen him smile before.

He returned to Harry's side quickly and stopped him from sitting up.

"You little sneak," he said, head dipped down and warm breath ghosting over Harry's face, "you were just pretending to struggle."

Harry smiled widely, "Whatever works."

"Touché." Draco replied and bent the rest of the way to deliver a chaste kiss to Harry's enflames lips before straightening. He winked at Harry's flushed features and turned to leave.

"I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave." Harry replied with a smirk as he unabashedly watched Draco walk away. Draco half turned and snorted up the cheesy pickup line. Despite that, after closing the door Draco glanced over his shoulder and looked at his butt.

:Please Review, it would be much appreciated:

((A/N: Would not be adverse to a BETA, if anyone is willing.))

Special thanks goes out to all the reviewers: layce74, Dangerous Lover, Geminidragon, Yui, Chop Suey, Alora, ron's gurlie, and HPDM-Slash-Rocks.

Yui: Thanks for the review! Sorry this chapter took so long. I meant for that line to be a bit ominous but don't worry, I'm a sucker for romance, so angst will be kept at a manageable level. But I make no guarantees on the ending. :cackles evilly:

HPDM-Slash-Rocks: Yes, it does rock doesn't it. Thank you for all the encouragement and for the e-mail. I hope you like this chapter as much as you seemed to enjoy the prologue. Cheers mate!


	3. 2: Learning to Feel

Authors Note: I know, it's been forever. For those of you who were reading this before and have come back, THANK YOU! I've hit a bit of a rough patch recently and am only now starting to pull everything back together. This chapter was a long time in coming and this is the fifth (that's right, FIFTH) version of it. And as long as my computer continues to work (did I mention my hard drive died, that's why I lost version four) I will continue this story to the best of my ability, wherever it may lead me. I also realized my changes in time and Point of View were really confusing in the last chapter so I changed it here. When a the Point of View changes (or time has passed) you with see - in the space between paragraphs, it's very unoriginal, I know. If anyone has a better way of accomplishing this please let me know. I'm going to go back into the previous chapter and repeat the process so that it's easier to understand.

Chapter Two: Learning to Feel

Harry awoke suddenly once again, his breath ragged and heart pounding in his ears drowning out the sounds of the night. He looked around the empty hospital wing in earnest, but nothing, no one, was there. He pushed the palm of his hand into his forehead, out of habit, before he realized it didn't hurt. He pulled his hand away and looked at it, marveling at the fact that his head didn't ache. He had just woken from his second vision of the night, wondering why his Occlumency shields had failed, knowing he had raised them before sleep this time. But this vision was different from the others, for one there was no pain and for another it hadn't been about Voldemort.

For a long moment he sat in confusion, unable to grasp the implications. Then, as suddenly as he awoke a memory surfaced that shocked him to his feet, where he stood gasping for breath once again, eyes watering against the sudden pressure.

He turned his burning eyes across the isle of beds to the tall windows opposite him. There was no color in the sky yet, but he knew where he had to go well enough to navigate there in the dark. He walked to the window and opened it, shimmying onto the ledge and swinging his legs to hang over the other side before slipping silently out. His feet touched down silently on the damp grass and he turned to look back at the window. He sighed, knowing the headache he would have when it came time to tell Dumbledore the truth, but he turned away from the wall instead of retreating back inside and headed resolutely toward the distant darkness of the forest he was forbidden to enter.

-

It had been three days since the incident in Potions in which Harry Potter had been injured. Three days since he had kissed Draco Malfoy in a late night tryst in the Hospital Wing. Three days since anyone had seen him.

No one was worried. No one that is, but that selfsame Draco Malfoy who had been the last one to see him. The morning after Harry and Draco's little rendezvous Madame Pomfrey awoke to an empty Hospital Wing, not an unusual event by any means, especially considering the patient, and come breakfast when no Harry Potter appeared everyone simply assumed Pomfrey had not released him. Draco, calm and collected as ever, left the Slytherin table with all the dignity of his upbringing and headed for the Hospital Wing before classes. He pushed open the heavy doors and discovered, absolutely nothing on the other side, only empty beds and the fluttering drapes of an open window.

And Draco was worried, very worried. No one else seemed to notice the disappearance, a fact that upset Draco more than he was comfortable with. He had even been so bold as to ask the Headmaster if he'd seen him lately, as the two passed in the hallway. Dumbledore had tilted his head at an angle and looked at Draco over his glasses and replied, "and just why would you be looking for our young Mr. Potter, Draco?"

Dinner the third night after his disappearance was like dinner any other night for everyone _but_ a certain blonde Slytherin. Draco's unease was palpable. Years of training kept him from shifting endlessly in his seat but failed to stop his gaze from lingering on the empty seat across the hall that should not have been empty. Draco clenched and unclenched his jaw and pushed his food around his plate. His stomach rolled unpleasantly from hunger, but he resisted its pull.

A half an hour into dinner the doors to the Great Hall opened and a chill breeze swept across the stones and howled in the rafters above the heads of the students. The hall fell silent. Sounds echoed off the stone floor outside the hall, footfalls and hoof beats. A figure emerged into the silent hall, the missing Harry, splattered with mud and grime. His face was impassive and his green eyes blank and hollow. He didn't limp, despite his recent injury, but he did seem to walk slower as though a great burden weighed his steps. He moved into the hall and toward his usual spot at the Gryffindor table, silent save for his echoing footfalls. He sat beside Hermione, as he would on any other occasion, and pulled the nearest serving plate toward himself and began to eat, steadfastly ignoring the many stares from around the hall through years of practice.

Another figure entered the hall then, only after Harry had seated himself, having remained in the shadows of the entrance up until this point. He was a centaur, older than any the students had seen before. His coat was a deep dark brown and dotted with spots of gray, the hair on his legs and tail was long and gray, swishing stiffly as he walked. The skin of his chest and face was aged hard and rugged. The hair on his head fell below his waist in waves of silver and his eyes were brown, dark and wise. He was splattered in mud as well, but his gait was lively as he approached Dumbledore at the head table.

"Dumbledore." He intoned, voice deep and rich, no sign of age had touched him here, it was as smooth and supple as the day he reached adulthood.

"Azre." Dumbledore replied as he stood. Azre's size was only made apparent then. Even on the raised platform the headmaster appeared childlike before the great centaur. "Long has it been since a great elder of the centaur race stood in these halls, what brings you here great one?"

Azre made an unpleasant face at Dumbledore's words, his upper lip curled in mockery of a smile. "Formality be damned, let ceremony and pomp be left to the young who have time to waste on such insubstantial things. Speak, you and I, Dumbledore. _In private_." The great centaur turned without waiting for a response and moved back toward the door. His eyes moved over the Slytherin table briefly, and it seemed to Draco that they rested on him for a moment longer than anyone else.

Before leaving the hall completely Azre turned and looked at Harry. Harry lifted his head and their eyes met. The Gryfindor nodded, solemnly, and went back to his dinner.

After the hall was empty of centaur and headmaster a swell of noise rose from the students. Even the Slytherin's talked unabashedly about what they had seen. No one tried to ask Harry, years of experience told them they'd get no answers from that front until Harry wanted them too.

Draco's confused but relieved gaze didn't waver from the soft black hair of the boy across the hall. Harry kept his head down to avoid the stares he was receiving from half the student body but Draco wished he'd look up just once. He was shocked to realize just how much he'd missed those eyes and craved the green, whether full of life or hard as stone at this point Draco didn't care.

Another half an hour passed, and the gossip slowly waned from excited chatter to quieter conversation. Draco glanced around the hall once before returning his gaze to the object of his affection. Despite Harry's seeming determination to eat he hadn't actually consumed that much. He didn't push his food around his plate, but his bites where miniscule, to give the allusion of eating without actually accomplishing all that much of it. Draco marveled at this. If Harry had sullenly pushed his food about he'd have half the table pouring food into his lap and asking what was wrong, this careful mockery of eating was fooling them, but not him. Draco sighed and stood, and as he left the hall he didn't notice the sharp eyes that lifted to watch him leave. He didn't notice as the hall quieted once again as Harry rose, and he didn't notice that Harry was following him.

-

Relief flooded through me so violently when he finally stood to leave that it took me a moment to regain my bearings enough to follow. No one knew I was following, they just thought I was leaving, so I was uninterrupted as I ghosted into the halls and traced his steps. Draco was preoccupied, he walked with his head down, watching his own feet and trusting them to know the way. His blonde hair fell over his forehead and into his view but he left it there.

Now that I had followed him I didn't know quite what to do. I wanted to pin him against the nearest wall and ravage him, I wanted to hold him close and cry, I wanted…

I shake my head and speed up to catch him. I'm surprised he doesn't hear me following as I no longer try to hide the sound of my footsteps. When I'm close enough I reach forward and wrap my fingers around his wrist. My skin is darker then his, and in the moment before he turns I marvel at the two colors side by side as heat shoots up my arm and makes me dizzy.

A moment later he's turned and we're looking into each other's eyes. I see relief in his eyes a moment before his arms come around me.

-

They stood there for a long moment, Draco's breath was ragged and he clutched at the slightly smaller teen in his arms. "How could you?" Draco demanded softly, voice slightly ragged. For a moment even he didn't know what he was talking about, "How could you just disappear to Merlin knows where, for Merlin fucking knows how long? I was so worried."

As the words left Draco's mouth he cringed, wondering where they came from and knowing they revealed too much. Harry didn't seem to mind though, he smiled widely at the emotion in Draco's words and pushed that smile into the soft skin of Draco's neck, letting him feel the curve of his lips.

Harry murmured a soft apology and kissed the neck before him. Draco shuttered and smiled, tilting his own head further away to allow Harry the room to do what he wanted to the tender flesh under his lips. Harry smiled wider and kissed and nipped at the creamy skin, causing it to pink pleasantly and Draco to moan very quietly.

Noise from the hall behind Harry caused them to part, scowling at the intruding sound, knowing they'd have company in a few moments. Harry took Draco's hand and led him to a nearby painting, the woman in it's glossy depths winked at them and swung open, revealing a passage Draco had never seen before but Harry knew well.

The passage curved and twisted for several minutes before ending abruptly. They appeared back in the entrance hall, there was no door or portrait that hid the passage they had just exited and Draco wondered how he'd never noticed it before. He turned to look at it only to find it gone and when he looked back at Harry the other boy was laughing at his expression.

Before they could decide where to go from there, or before Harry could start pulling him along again. They heard again the sound of hoof beats against stone. Azre appeared from the corridor to their left, alone and irritated. His tail swished back and forth in agitation as he scowled at nothing and moved toward the exit. He didn't look at them as he approached and Draco wondered of the old centaur realized he wasn't alone in the hallway.

"You will come to me again, young human, if it happens again?" Azre's voice seemed to swallow the silence.

Harry nodded, "I said I would."

Azre stopped before them and looked down at them. Even Draco, who was several inches taller than Harry, didn't reach his bellybutton, and so they craned their necks to look into his face. He looked from one teen to the other, ignoring their joined hands, and focused his gaze on the two. "Remember Harry."

"I will."

He steadied his gaze on Draco alone after that. "Be careful, young one. The stars spell danger for you both. Be ready." Azre turned and left before Draco had time to question his words. He turned imploringly to Harry, who was watching him in silence.

"Come on, we have a lot to talk about I think." Harry relied to his look. At this moment a strangled rumble broke the silence from Draco's midsection. He blushed hotly as Harry smiled at him embarrassment. "Yeah, definitely the kitchens." Harry got out between chuckles as he began to lead Draco by the hand he hadn't let go of.

-

Draco sat on the long wooden bench and watched as Harry walked deeper into the kitchens in search of a house elf. Harry seemed to know the kitchens well, Draco thought, as he navigated toward between large shelves and larger stoves. It was, however, Draco's first time here and he admitted to himself it was bigger than he expected.

Before he could begin to contemplate the intricacies of the table beneath his restless fingers Harry returned with two drinks. A house elf followed with a tray of food that he set on the table in front of Draco before scurrying away. Harry sat on the bench opposite him and held out one of the glasses.

"Alright," Harry said after Draco took a sip, "Where to begin."

"How about when you skipped out of the Hospital Wing." Draco relied with a bit more vinegar than he intended.

Harry seemed pleased that Draco had cared about his disappearance so much. "Sorry about that, really." Harry paused and breathed in deeply, "Out of curiosity, did anyone else seem to care I was gone?" When Draco shook his head no, feeling pleased at the second apology, Harry sighed. "Thought not. Okay, so my little Houdini act…"

Harry looked away for a moment in thought, when he turned back he stared hard at Draco for a long moment, as though to assess him. Harry must have found what he was looking for because he began again almost immediately.

"When you came to the Hospital Wing I wasn't asleep, in fact I had just woken up. The reason I was awake was because I had a vision."

Draco look skeptical, and Harry once again replied to his look, "I know, I'm useless at Divination, but these aren't natural visions." Harry sighed, "I think I'm going about this explanation all wrong." He shook his head, "Okay, so the scar on my forehead connects me to Voldemort, most people know that, or assume that, or whatever. It's true, I'm afraid, and when he feels particularly strong or potent emotions he can pull me into visions. They're always of him, of what he's doing at the moment. I'm always looking through his eyes, they're horrible because a lot of the time I get pulled in when he's torturing someone."

The look on his face said just how horrible they were and forgetting the food Draco reached his hand across the tabletop and took Harry's hand in his. They had the same calluses, Draco observed, Seeker calluses.

After another deep breath Harry continued. "It wasn't long before Voldemort figured out about them, then he figured out how to send me false ones. People died because of those." Harry's throat closed and Draco's grip on his hand tightened. "I learned to tell the difference over time though. Voldemort knew I saw visions of him but he didn't know what they were like. When Voldemort sends me false ones they're always from an outside perspective. When I'm in an actual vision I don't actually see Voldemort because I'm inside him, but in a false one I do. Anyway, these visions used to keep me up, they only really come when I'm asleep so for a long time before I learned to block them I would go days without sleeping. I'd wonder the halls, or the grounds. Eventually I started wondering the forest."

Draco expression became almost murderous and Harry nodded, "Yeah, I know how stupid that was. And thinking back on it, it was a form of self-destruction, both not sleeping and going into that forest. I became really familiar with it and its inhabitants though. I started to make friends with some of the centaurs, most of them got along well with me. All but Bane, really. I didn't meet Azre for a long time and when I did I didn't know how important he was to the herd I was visiting. I don't really remember our first meeting, it had been four days since I slept and I was kind of out of sorts." Harry smiled humorlessly. "Apparently I impressed him because the next time I went out he was waiting for me. I asked him once what impressed him so much and he said I was a fireball, whatever that means."

Draco laughed at the image, and Harry smiled a real smile at him.

"As you probably noticed Azre isn't like the normal centaurs we meet around here. Apparently, the older you get the more down to Earth you get. Azre hates people who talk in riddles it irritates him to no end. He thinks if you have something to say you should just say it. So we got along just fine and eventually I started telling him about the visions. It was hard not to, since they were the reason I was in the forest instead of my bed. Azre said I have vision because I'm a seer. That the connection with Voldemort only sets them off because I have the ability for real visions but not the capacity. He says that the reason I've never had a true one, without Voldemort's influence, is because I don't feel enough."

Draco made a face at this that caused Harry to smile brightly at him. "I know, that's what I said." Draco couldn't help the burst of laughter that forced its way out of him and it took the two of them several minutes to calm down enough to continue talking. "Anyway…" Harry started, holding the last syllable and making Draco chuckle again. "He explained that he meant I spent too much time being Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived, and not enough time being me. I spent every minute of every day hiding my true feelings and letting people see what they wanted to see, what they expected to see. He said it had been so long since I had just been myself that my emotions were stunted. He said the type of seer I am relies on emotions and the reason Voldemort was the only one causing them was because of the two of us he was the only one who experienced true emotions because I didn't let myself feel them anymore."

Harry took a deep breath. "After you left the Hospital Wing three nights ago I went to sleep and had another vision. I had a true vision, a real one that was all me." Green eyes locked onto shocked gray, "I had my first real vision, because for the first time in a long time, I let myself feel. I felt because of you, I felt for you."

I always thought it funny that "embarrassment" sounds like it means that someone is "bare assed." It's "bare-assed-ment" which, consequently, would be embarrassing.

I made this difference between Harry's real and false visions up, I wanted a way for him to tell them apart that I could explain to Draco.

A/N: Just so everyone knows I don't know where the hell that came from. Like I said in the first A/N this is the 5th version of this chapter and I don't know what happened. The other one's where all "Harry and Draco get to know each other, and a little snogging" There was no second vision, or Azre, I don't have even a notion of where he came from, though I think I know where I might be going bringing him in. I didn't know how to write a centaur like the ones in the books so Azre's a little different, but I call it artistic freedom. It was kind of funny because I wrote that whole scene in the great hall first (the chapter started at the whole "it had been three days since" thing) and realized I had no idea where or why Harry had disappeared. Anyway. I like seeing this story take me places, so I'm going to keep going. Thanks to everyone (if anyone) who has come back to this story after my absence and welcome to all the new readers.

Cheers and review!


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